Grill grate

ABSTRACT

A plurality of bars are arranged to form a grill grate that can be used to cook food items. The bars are disposed to form a surface upon which food items can be cooked. The plurality of bars defines at least one opening and an insert is position in the at least one opening.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/616,818 filed Oct. 7, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a standard outdoor grill that is used to cook food products. This invention relates to the grilling apparatus and more specifically the grate on which is the food products are cooked. This grilling apparatus includes inserts that can be positioned on the cooking grate to show a logo or other design. Frequently a trademark or logo from a sports team or a University, but not limited to such can be formed on the insert. The insert can be designed to transfer the logo to the food product or just be a decorative part of the grill.

Numerous barbecue grill grates have been provided in prior art that are adapted to include various functions. While these grills may be suitable for the specific purpose to which they address, they fail to include the insert concept of the instant invention. The present invention is designed to incorporate a decorative feature, yet retain the functionality of a standard grill grate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a grate for use on a cooking grill. The grate includes inserts that provide an aesthetic feature for the cooking surface of the grill. The primary object of the invention is intended to allow the user to display desired design indicia on the surface of the grate.

Another object of the present invention is that the inserts shall be securely attached to the grate.

An additional object is that insert can be used on a grate and that the inserts can have different shapes.

A further object of the grill grate is that the design has been created to allow for interchangeability of the inserts.

Another object of the present invention is that the grates can be manufactured in various sizes and shapes in order to adequately support the various shapes and sizes of residential and commercial grilling units present in the market.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of grill grate with spaces for decorative inserts of varying sizes;

FIG. 2 is a top view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view with the inserts in position;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view;

FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative shape and size of grill grate; and

FIG. 7 is a plain view of inserts that be used with the grill grate of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

The invention is directed to a grill grate that can be used to cook foods on a charcoal, gas or electric grill. The grill can be an outdoor grill or a grill that is located in a home or commercial food preparation facility. More particularly the grate has at least one insert having a logo or indicia that is of significance of user of the grill. The features of the grill grate invention will be more fully understood by referring to the attached drawings in combination with the following descriptive material.

Grill grates for cooking food can be made in many geometric shapes with varying dimensions. More common shapes are circles, squares and rectangles. However, the features of such grills are similar regardless of the size or geometric shape for the grill grate. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 show a rectangular grill grate 10 that has a plurality of generally even spaced rods 15 that form a surface 19 upon which food items can be cooked. Support bars 23 are secured to the side of the rods 15 that is opposite to the cooking surface 19. The support bars 23 are positioned along the outer peripheral edge of the grill grate 10 and substantially parallel opposed relationship. A center opening 27 is formed in the rods 15 in the center of the grill grate 10. A frame rail 29 is positioned along both sides of the center opening 27 and the frame rails 29 are secured to the rods 15 that define the center opening 27. A flange 31 is secured to the frame rails 29 at a location that is below the cooking surface 19 of rods 15. An insert 37 can be positioned in the center opening 27 with the insert supported on the flanges 31 that extend from the frame rails 29 and flanges 31. The insert 37 can have a logo or indicia 39 located thereon. The logo or indicia 39 can be just for decorative purposes or it can be used to form the logo or indicia on the surface of food products that are cooked on the grill grate 10. Although the center opening 27 as been shown as being rectangular it should be appreciated that other geometric shapes can used for the center opening. If other geometric shapes are used, the frame rails 29 that form the outer periphery of the center opening 27 will need to be modified to conform to the shape of the center opening. At the same time the insert that is positioned in the center opening will need to be modified to correspond to the geometric shape of the center opening.

Additional secondary openings 43 can be positioned around the surface of the rectangular grill grate 10. A secondary frame rail 47 is secured to the rods 15 that form the secondary opening 43. A secondary flange 49 is secured to the secondary frame rails 47 so that the flange is spaced below the cooking surface 19 defined by the rods 15. A secondary insert 53 can be positioned in the secondary openings 43 so that the secondary insert is held in positioned by the secondary flanges 49 on the secondary frame rails 47. The secondary insert 53 can contain the same logo or indicia as the center insert 37 or different logos or indicia can be positioned on the secondary inserts 53. The secondary inserts 53 functions in the same manner as the insert 37 and can be solely for decorative purposes or they can actually function to transfer the logo or indicia to the surface of the food products that are cooked on the grill grate 10.

The insert 37 and the secondary inserts 53 can be removably positioned on the flange 31 and secondary flange 49 respectively so that the insert 37 and secondary inserts 53 can be removed and/or changed as desired by the user of the grill. The user of the grill may decide to change the insert 37 and secondary inserts 53 to carry the logo of the users favorite sport team that is active at that particular time of year. It is also possible to secure the insert 37 and the secondary inserts 53 to the flange 31 and secondary flanges 49 respectively by welding or other suitable securing means so that the insert 37 and secondary inserts 53 become a permanent part of the grill grate 10.

Central support bars 57 can extend from each side of the center opening 27 to provide additional support for the rods 15 that form the cooking surface 19 of a rectangular grill grate 10. The central support bars 57 are positioned on the same side of the rods 15 as the support bars 23 and the center support bars 57 are disposed substantially parallel to the support bars 23.

Although the insert 37 and secondary inserts 53 have been described as being positioned on flanges 31 and secondary flanges 49 respectively, it is possible to secure the insert 37 and secondary inserts 53 directly to the frame rails 29. FIG. 6 shows an alternative grill construction having a different geometric shape. The circular grill grate 110 has a plurality of evenly spaced rods 115 that form a surface 119 upon which food items can be cooked. A support bar 123 is secured to the side of the rods 115 that is opposite to the coking surface 119 and extends around the outer periphery of the grill grate. Central support bars 157 can be utilized to provide additional support for the rods 15. The central support bars 157 are secured at each end to the support bar 123. A center opening 127 is formed in the rods 115 in the center of the grill grate 110. The center opening usually extends between the central support bars 157. An insert 137 can be positioned in the center opening 127. As shown in FIG. 6, the insert 137 is welded or otherwise secured to the rods 115 and central support bars 157 so that the insert is essentially permanently secured to the grill grate 110.

Secondary inserts can be positioned in secondary openings on the grill grate 110 in the manner previously described with respect to grill grate 10. The grill grate 110 can also include handles 160 on opposite sides of the grill grate to facilitate handling of the grill grate. FIG. 7 shows different shapes for inserts 37, 137 and secondary inserts 53 that can be used with the grill grate of the present invention. However, it should be appreciated that other geometric shapes can be used for the insert and secondary inserts for the grill grate.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative for the inserts that can be used with the grill grate of the present invention. The grill grate is essentially of the same configuration as that show in FIGS. 1-5. However, there are no flanges 31 associated with the center opening 27 or secondary flanges 49 associated with the secondary openings 43 to position the inserts on the grill grate. Instead the insert 237 has at least one clip 239 and the secondary insert 253 has at least one clip 255 located on each end of the inserts. The clips 239 and 255 are disposed to engage the rods 15 that are adjacent to the outer opening 27 and secondary openings 53. The clips 239 and 255 are constructed to fit over a portion of the rods 15 that form the cooking surface 19. The clips 239 and 255 are usually designed to releasable attach to the rods 15 so that the inserts 237 and secondary inserts 258 can be removeably positioned in the center opening 27 and secondary openings 43 respectively of the grill grate 10. The clips 239 and 255 engage the rods 15 so that inserts are held in position on the grill grate until it is desired to remove the inserts from the grill grate 10. The clips 239 and 255 are usually made of a resilient material that can be displaced to fit over the rods 15 and then be resiliently biased against the rods 15 to secure the inserts in the desired locations on the grill grate 10. The clips 239 and 255 can include a curved portion 265 that is designed to fit over and engage the rods 15 to further assist in securing the inserts in the openings 27 and 43 in the grill grate. A top 267 can be located at the end of the clips 239 and 255 that is spread apart from the insert to make it easier to displace the clips when it is desired to install or remove the inserts. In practice it has also been found preferable to have at least two clips on the opposed sides of a square or rectangular insert. For inserts of other shapes it is necessary to use a sufficient number of clips to secure the inserts to the rods 15 of the grill grate to properly secure the inserts for cooking and other purposes. The clips allow the inserts to be easily removed and replaced while still securely holding the inserts on the grill grate.

The above detailed description of the present invention is given for explanatory purposes. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the whole of the foregoing description is to be construed in an illustrative and not a limitative sense, the scope of the invention being defined solely by the appended claims. 

1. A grill grate comprising: a plurality of bars that are arranged to form a surface upon which food items can be cooked; at least one opening being defined by the plurality of bars; and an insert being positioned in the at least one opening.
 2. The grate of claim 1 wherein the insert is removably positioned in the at least one opening.
 3. The grate of claim 1 wherein the insert is secured in the at least one opening.
 4. The grill of claim 1 wherein two or more openings are defined by the support bars and an insert is positioned in each opening.
 5. The grill of claim 3 wherein the openings are of different sizes and the inserts are sized to fit into the opening.
 6. The grate of claim 1 wherein the insert includes indicia that a user of the grate desires to display.
 7. The grate of claim 5 wherein the indicia is disposed on the grate in a manner whereby the indicia can be transferred onto food items that are cooked on the grate.
 8. The grate of claim 2 wherein a support bar is positioned around at least a portion of the at least one opening and a flange is secured to the support bar, the flange being disposed to removably receive the insert that is removably positioned in the at least one opening.
 9. The grate of claim 1 wherein at least one clip extends from the insert, the clip being disposed to releasable engage on of the plurality of bars to removeably secure the insert in the at least one opening.
 10. The grate of claim 9 wherein more than one clip extends from the insert.
 11. The grate of claim 9 wherein material that can be displaced to fit over the bar and then be resiliently biased against the bar to secure the insert in the at least one opening.
 12. The grate of claim 11 wherein the at least one clip has a curved portion that is designed to engage the bar to assist in securing the insert in the at least one opening in the grate.
 13. The grate of claim 12 wherein a tab can be positioned on the end of the at least one clip that is spaced apart from the insert to assist in displacing the at least one clip during installation and removal of the insert. 